Post 4th Of July Primetime Golf Fireworks In The Mountains Of Montana - The Match 4: Phil/Brady vs. Bryson/Rodgers
(My good buddy who I went to Loyola with Augie helped knock this one out of the park. He runs the "13 Holes" twitter account that has been on an absolute heater golf betting and is a good golf account to follow in general. Banks was at a Memorial Service so bear with us.)
Always good to have primetime golf. Still nursing 4th of July 2-day hangovers, it was time to take in the beauty of Big Sky, Montana. The Reserve at Moonlight Basin was designed by some guy who's won 18 majors. Private joint but if you vacation there with a 3 night minimum AND pay the $125/day/person resort fee, then you can play the course for $250. See you there tomorrow.
Alright, so we have Phil/Brady v Bryson/Rodgers. Brady the high single-digit handicaper, Rodgers the mid single-digit handicaper. Advantage Bryson/Rodgers at the sportsbook had this partnership as the favorites. From the couch, seems to be the case as Rodgers has some serious speed in his swing and the better short game - on this day anyway... he made everything inside 8 feet and added the Kevin Na multiple times. Phil and Bryson are a wash on paper - opinions are slightly more polarizing.
We didn't have any hole deep outs a la the goat in the last match.
But we had some entertaining shots - lots of talk of the thin air and elevation changes affecting the distance of shots. They even had a 500 yard line painted on a 777 yard par 5. And Bryson took a mulligan - well not really. Seems like they could do it for charity, but why waste it on a shot. So, in his words, Bryson hit another one for "funsies". Bryson gonna Bryson. Could probably dedicate two blogs to Bryson from the pro and con side of the isle.
QUICK RECAP
It was back and forth to start. Bryson chips in on the first hole for birdie. Phil and Bryson both hit it inside 3 feet on a par 3. Phil/Brady win two in a row to go 1 up. After making the turn tied/even/all square, Bryon/Rodgers rip off 3 in a row to start the back 9. But a boat race doesn't ensue, and Phil/Brady win the 15th to go 2 up with 3 to go. But Rodgers flashed the flat stick again and poured in a 10 footer on 16 to win 3 and 2.
THEME
When you play with your buddies, usually a theme or joke plays out throughout the round… most likely of the sexuals. Golfers are a horny bunch. The one major theme that came out throughout The Match was "take us through the process." Bryson chirped Phil on his thought process. So, the rest of the way, Phil gave it back to him (but was probably doing some research for future majors). They even broke down how Bryson reads putts with percentage slope, speed of greens, yada yada yada. Cool to get behind the minds of pros, but not gonna help us normal folk because we don't walk around with protractors, compasses, levels, greens books, and a stimp meter to measure the speed of the greens at our local muni. And… digress.
COOL TWIST
One Club Challenge. 14th hole, par 4, 443 yards. Rodgers used a 3 wood. Bryson pitching wedge. Brady 7 iron. Phil 4 iron… doesn't carry one so used some sort of fairway wood/hybrid. Fun to watch them hack it around and a nice switch up from the 5+ hour marathon. They tied the hole with double bogey.
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Speaking of, feel like they could just air the back 9, with a 15-30 minute intro capturing the highlights. But corporate gonna corporate.
DRINKING GAME
If you took a drink every time Bryson called someone "dude," your 4th of July hangover would be severely extended.
WHAT IT'S MISSING
This.
6 hours of Brooks/Bryson would actually end up being boring. They would be more entertaining in the ring, and the lead-up, to a Rough N Rowdy.
(h/t Augie)